| NOTAS: | "As virtual worlds emerge as the next probable frontier for the internet, European policy makers are eager to take this opportunity to apply the lessons learnt from the last digital revolution and ensure that European values are the founding principles of these virtual spaces. As such, both the European Commission, with a non-legislative initiative, and the European Parliament, with two own-initiative reports, are exploring what possible opportunities and challenges virtual worlds will bring. There is, however, an underlying uncertainty about the definitions. What are the virtual worlds’ common features and characteristics? How is the metaverse different from virtual worlds? How can we conceptualise something that will change remarkably as technology develops? In this new CERRE Tech Media and Telecom issue paper, Fabiana Di Porto and Daniel Foa aim to clarify these concepts and arrive at a definition that is fit for policy makers to identify the most salient features of virtual worlds and the policy issues they might give rise to. By confronting the definition advanced by the European Commission in its Call for evidence with those found in the literature, the authors propose a conceptualisation of virtual worlds based on its phases of development and a definition that captures both virtual worlds in their current state as well as their foreseeable features as technology develops. These features are: user experience, mass content creation, technologies and connectivity infrastructures, and governance. For each of these key features, the authors identify possible salient policy issues that might merit attention by policy makers." |
